How reflective of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are currently the rights of US citizens?

In answer to Quora question: "The United States of America: How reflective of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are currently the rights of US citizens?"

Thanks for the A2A. What makes your question a bit difficult to answer is the question of intent behind certain provisions of the U.S. the Constitution, and the question of interpretation and codification by State legislatures and our judiciary in the intervening decades, and how all of this has manifested in various locations around the U.S. I suppose to generalize in the laziest possible way, we might say that, in practice (i.e. the reality on-the-ground):

1) Poor people and people of color don't have the same Constitutional rights as rich white people do in the U.S.

2) Gun laws all around the U.S. frequently reflect different interpretations of the U.S. Constitution.

3) Constitutional protections against unjustified searches and seizures are viewed quite differently by law enforcement in different parts of the U.S.

4) There is an ongoing debate across the U.S. (and as a frequent component of court cases challenging new and existing laws) regarding the power individual States retain vs. the power the Federal Government can exercise, and what the Constitution stipulates in this regard.

5) In the U.S., equal protection under the law is usually directly proportionate to one's affluence and social position.

6) Hard-won rights supported by the Constitution can be taken away quite easily - for example, the Supreme Court's overturning of voter protection laws in the Southern U.S.

7) Freedom of religion has been pretty well respected as a fundamental cultural value - as long as it doesn't conflict with other individual and collective rights.

8)The Patriot Act has done tremendous damage to Constitutional protections in the U.S., and continues to erode Constitutional standards in all levels of law, and in all branches of government.

9) The 8th Amendment has been routinely trampled into the mud by law enforcement, our judiciary and our prison system. It's a travesty really.

10) 9th Amendment expansions are frequently challenged by conservatives and Constitutional "originalists" who can't see past the end of their ideological nose. (For example, abortion rights.)

My 2 cents.

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